Oblong Octavo album (ca. 18x26 cm or 7 x 10 ¼ in). 43 card stock leaves. With 96 mounted original gelatin silver photos, including three panoramas (three- or four-part), from ca. 5x25 cm (2 x 9 ¾ in) to ca. 3x21 cm (1 ¼ x 8 ¼ in); the rest of the photos are from ca. 8,5x13,5 cm (3 ¼ x 5 ¼ in) to ca. 5,5x7 cm (2 x 2 ¾ in). The vast majority (over eighty) photos with period ink captions on the mounts; three images are captioned in negative. Period black full cloth album; paper label of the “Nonpareil Trade Mark” mounted on the inner side of the rear cover. Owner’s ink note “Property of E.P. Willson, Lusk, Wyo” on the inner side of the front cover. Covers rubbed, front hinge with a crack, one leaf detached from the stub and loosely inserted, a few photos mildly faded, but overall a very good album of strong interesting photos.

Historically significant collection of original gelatin silver snapshot photos, following the construction of a part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quince Railroad between Wind River Canyon and Wendover on the North Platte River in eastern Wyoming in the 1910s. The railway company started to develop routes in northern Wyoming in the 1890s, seeing it as a crossroads which could efficiently connect transcontinental lines from the Midwest and South to the ones in the Pacific Northwest. The album illustrates the construction of a line, which aimed to connect the Burlington route with the “C.B.& Q’s” Colorado and Southern routes, thus creating “the shortest route from the Gulf to the Pacific via rail” (see more). Today the line is operated by the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), the largest freight railroad in the United States.

The album, apparently compiled by a young member of the railway engineers’ team, contains about thirty views of the line construction, showing “C.B. & Q. shovel in tunnel approach at Alkali summit,” “File driver on Big Sandy Cr. Near Careyhurst, Wyo.,” “Olsen & Campbell shovel in cut east of Big Sandy Cr.,” “Twohy Bros. shovel near Glenrock, Wyo.,” “Twohy Bros. shovel near Glenrock,” “Olsen & Campbell grading machine near Careyhurst,” “Twohy Bros. temporary trestle work near Glenrock,” “C., B. & Q. fill near Glenrock, Wyo.,” “Twohy Bros. steam shovel near Glenrock, Wyo.,” “Water tank, &c., Twohy Bros.,” “Olsen & Campbell’s revolving shovel east of Big Sandy Cr.,” “Platte R. and new grade near Glenrock – Twohy Bros.,” “Engine shed & shop, Twohy Bros.,” “Twohy Bros.’ shovel,” “Scenes on new C., B. & Q. grade, Twohy Bros.,” “Trestle on Twohy Bros.’ work,” “Moving a dinkey near Glenrock, Wyo.,” “Dirt train unloading,” &c. There are also interesting portraits of “C., B. & Q. engineers at Glenrock,” “A.E. Lodge, Division Engr.,” and a group photo featuring “Line D[irecto]r., E.P.W. [apparently, the compiler], M.V.R., A.E.L[odge],” and others.

Other photos include three panoramic views of the North Platte River near Wendover and “the Breaks near the head of Hat Creek,” as well as photos of railway tracks (near “Boysen Dam and the “block” tunnel” and in the Wind River Canyon), North Platte River ranches (Fowler’s Ranch on the Platte R. near Wendover,” “Wheat field on Running Water Ranch,” “Running Water Ranch”), and other Wyoming scenery (countryside near Glenrock, Laramie Peak, Sheep Mt., Young Woman Creek, “East Branch of Harney Creek”), &c. There are also two nice portraits of the compiler (captioned “E.P.W.”) and a series of views of several team camps (“Blue grouse for supper at this camp,” “Camp at foot of Laramie Pk.,” “A mess of trout from Crow Cr.,” “Camp at Sylvan Lake, Top Notch Peak in the distance,” “W.S. & camp outfit ready to leave Harney Cr.”). Two photos show an outdoor swimming pool (likely, used by the construction team); one of the images features “The Canon Theatre” in the background.

Overall an interesting collection of original photos of railway construction in Wyoming in the 1910s.